Feelin the Brexit blues #finance

The stock market continued to drift and there was little enthusiasm as the uncertainty brought about by Brexit and a general election continued. We appear to be back to a two-party system with the Lib Dem all but wiped out and UKIP a shadow of its former self. The Labour manifesto seems to be a watered down version of what the leader would actually like. They are beginning to actually look electable. The Conservatives look strong on leadership but weak on actual policy. The result of the general election is impossible to predict and so yes, we have the Brexit blues. We like uncertainty, it provides opportunity but only if we can make reasonably accurate predictions of which way the market will move.

Business to Business

Companies that essentially do business with government or other businesses appear to be a safer option. For that reason, I bought shares in Carillion a few weeks ago. They also pay a good dividend but when they went ex-dividend yesterday the share price dropped by 6.81% and is still dropping this morning. The market obviously doesn’t approve, but generous rewards for their executives could be another reason.

Premier Foods

Premier Foods is a company I have been invested in for a long time and so it is about time they did a little better. There was some progress this week as their share price made some gains. I’m close to break-even so I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of progress through the summer months. Perhaps afternoon tea will include Mr Kipling cakes once again.

Brexit Blues

It was Brexit blues across the rest of my portfolio but I do have high hopes for the AIM pharmaceutical companies. I’m making a return with Immupharma and I think that is just a beginning and Verona Pharma should come out of the red in the very near future.

Lloyds

The rest of my portfolio includes Lloyd’s Banking Group which some brokers think will recover through the summer. The same can be said of Tesco. Debenhams has a new boss but I think it will be some time before we see progress there. I am disappointed that the AA isn’t doing better but at least the price held reasonably well yesterday when they went ex-dividend.

Dividends

The only good news I have to alleviate my Brexit blues are the dividends that will be paid soon. The AA on the 8th of June followed by Carillion on the 9th. This month, I have Lloyd’s on the 16th and ITV on the 25th. Debenhams will go ex-dividend on the 1st of June.

These dividends will give me cash and have effectively reduced the amount I have invested and this could be a good thing with so much uncertainty.

Finally, it is worth mentioning Solo Oil which has continued to drop but recovered a little with the announcement that Neil Ritson will now be its full-time executive chairman. I am expecting him to buy even more shares in the company soon and that will signal a breakthrough.

That’s it for this week, I hope you have found my thoughts and ideas on investing helpful. If you would like to follow this blog, just enter your email address at the top of the sidebar or follow me on Twitter for updates. You can also find more ideas on my Facebook page.